Last Day of Fall

I can't believe today is the last day of fall. The picture here is the same place shown in a previous blog. It's amazing in just a couple months how the trees have lost all their trees, snow everywhere. It's a depressing time of year. My first Christmas of being alone in 7 years. I don't receive gifts except from my one daughter and I've told her to save her money and spend on her kids. I have Katy to keep me company and she's giving me reasons to go outside and walk. Better end this before I get all sappy...

Where has this year gone?

It's been a month since I've posted. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. It seems like it was just yesterday I was in Sonoma with part of my family celebrating Christmas. Time seemed to drag when I had a camping trip planned in June. But once we met and started our camping trip the time flew by again. I turned around and looked and it went from July to December, hot weather to snow. It would be better if I had someone besides a pet to share the days with. Doubt that will ever happen so I'm going to start working on my 2008 resolutions and see how many I can keep and how fast I can break others in 2008.

Signs of Fall

Fall in Colorado is so different from Fall in California or Nevada. I've lived in other states but never had the opportunity to be there when Fall has arrived. While walking Katy, I've noticed the changes in the tress along the one pathway. They've gone from solid green to shades of yellow and red. Many have lost their leaves completely while others are holding tight to those bright yellow leaves. It's even surprising to see some olive trees here. They have tiny olives hanging from the branches. The tree in my front lawn lost it's leaves in October when our first mild snow fell. The tree in my patio was full of green leaves but now within weeks lost all. I was told it would be beautiful here seeing all the different seasons. I should take Katy and go for a drive and take more pictures of the changing leaves and other signs of fall.

Will Rogers Shrine

Being new to Colorado Springs, I'm slowly learning about the things to see and do here. Looking out towards Cheyenne Mountain from the Townhouse Complex I live in, I've seen a building far in the distance up on Cheyenne Mountain. I got a new camera and zoomed in to capture a picture of it Sunday after a snow storm here. I talked to my boss about it today and he said it's Will Roger's Shrine. It peeked my curiousity so I came home to do a "google" search for the Shrine. If you want to learn more about it, http://www.cmzoo.org/shrine.html is a site that gives you a little information about the building and it's history.

Doberman Rescue

After spending a lot of time talking with my best friend, I decided to do an adoption for a rescued Doberman. I applied to adopt one here in Colorado but never heard from anyone regarding my application. I also saw the ones they offered for adoption here in Colorado were 1 1/2 yrs at the youngest. I saw one I really wanted but she was listed with Oklahoma Doberman Rescue. I asked my friend if he'd adopt her for me and I almost leaped through the monitor to hug him when I found out he had filled out the application. He had an immediate response asking for a little more information about the dogs he already has. I in the mean time was trying to find some Doberman Associations to contact to pass the word to not buy any Doberman pup from Michael Bennett in Rush Center, KS. I found a breeder in California I had bought a Doberman from in 1991. She was listed also as doing Doberman Rescue.. I called her and we talked for over 2 1/2 hours. She is on the National Board of Doberman Association and a couple of forums. She asked me to email her information about Michael and the Doberman pup, Toto he sold me. She also knows the woman in Oklahoma well and forwarded and email putting in a reference for me to adopt the 5 month old pup I'd found. Two days later I got a call at work and was told to fill out an online application and they would get started approving me. I did so immediately.

Within 30 minutes, I recieved a call back saying I had been approved and would be getting Katy by the end of October. Katy is in a foster home in Houston, TX. The foster mom said her husband works for Continental Airlines and he was going to fly here to Colorado with Katy. I still don't know which airport but I'll be getting them in the next day or two. I may end up driving to Denver International Airport or hoping.. I'll be able to drive to the one here in Colorado Springs.

Katy is being shipped with several of her favorite toys since I had to get rid of all the new toys I had just bought for Toto. She also is being sent with a brand new fleece coat to wear on cold days and nights. Her foster mom grew up in Colorado and wanted to make sure Katy had a coat. I have everything ready for Katy and can't wait for Saturday to come. She'll be 6 months old, spayed, current on all her shots and up to date and on heart worm preventative meds.

I want to thank Dana Johnson, from Danjo Dobies for all her help. Thank you Keisha for your support and the biggest thank you and hugs to Merrill for being an incredible friend.

How Much More Can I take?

I wonder if I upset the man above. First I lose Tressy on August 24th. On September 27th at 10 am, Toto went to Rainbow Bridge and joined Tressy, Tuaca, Trooper. I sobbed after getting home from work. He led such a short life, I can only hope and pray that I made the short time onlife that I had him happy. He deserved to be loved and spoiled. I'm now going to be suing the breeder and trying to do all I can to get him shut down. Toto I owe you that much to make sure he doesn't hurt anymore pups or break anymore human's hearts.

Learning about Parvo

I learned a lot in the last 2 days about Parvo. When I bought Toto I was guaranteed verbally by the breeder that Toto had been given all his puppy shots and was only 11 weeks old. He in his ad said Toto was 9 weeks old. I found out by email from his girlfriend he was 13 weeks when I bought him and too old for ears to be cropped. I talked to the vet the day after I bought him and the vet said he was in good shape. He said Toto would get another Parvo shot at 16 weeks but this was before I found out Toto's true age. Toto was doing great running up and down the stairs, chewing on everything.. being a typical puppy. He was fine yesterday morning but suddenly within 3 hrs after being awake, he got sick. I called a vet at Pet Smart since I was new here to Colorado Springs and talked about Toto's symptoms. They said just make sure he gets water and bring him in on Monday. I messed up by not getting a written contract nor copies of his pedigree and shot/medical records. I'm just hoping and praying that he'll survive this bout with Parvo. I don't think I could handle the loss of another pet especially this soon after losing another one. I'll also be checking a breeder before buying another pet and not buying on a spur of emotion and so soon after the loss of one.

Moving Adventures

Maybe I should just find a nice covered wagon to live in since I seem to have moved so many times in the last 7 years. Or better yet, maybe invest in a nice RV that I can just live out of and pay rent in a park in between moves. Since December 2000, I've moved from California to Maine, Maine to Nevada, Nevada to Arkansas, Arkansas to California, 2 additional moves in California, California to Colorado and now on my second move in less than 3 months to another city in Colorado. The last 2 moves were fast and not expected. A rush job transfer from California to Denver area on July 1st. Company then closing the office down a month later, finding new employment in Colorado Springs and now moving there. The old Willie Nelson song "On The Road Again" sure seems to fit me. Hopefully I won't be moving for a while. I do want to buy a place so that hopefully will be my next and last move.

Toto's New Friend

I decided to name the pup Toto for a couple reasons. One is I've always said I was going to get a doberman and name it Toto so when people ask me "where's Toto" I could call out my doberman to shut them up. Another reason is he was born in Kansas and the phrase "we're not in Kansas anymore" fits him too. This morning, he saw himself in a mirror and I had to record it.

Naming a pup

I had to put Tressy down on Friday, August 24, 2007. It was a heart breaking experience and I spent the day in tears. I had so many close friends telling me I needed to get a new pup as soon as possible. For some reason they seemed concerned that I would do something crazy, which is far from the truth. I've had a lot happen to me in the last few months. I rush job transfer and move from California to Colorado, losing my job due to the branch being closed down within a month after moving, and then the loss of my 4 legged best friend.

Friends were doing searches and I started looking on craigs list as well as checking out animal shelters, pup adoptions programs here in Denver area, etc. My roommate and I had plans to go looking at Petsmart this Saturday if the pups shown online Friday were something I was interested in. I was really considering getting a lab and not another doberman. However, my best human friend, who was in love with Tressy, told me I should really stick with a dobie since I was so familiar and comfortable with them. He suggested adopting a young rescued dobie and I found a male that was 1 yr old and a female about 2. The shelter never responded to my emails or phone calls. In the mean time, another friend found 2 ads in the Tulsa OK newspaper and gave me the information.

I'm guessing someone above must have been directing this or my guardian angels were helping me out. I called both numbers and spoke to one of the sellers. He said he wanted $1000 for his females and $850 for males. I thanked him but said due to unemployment and the death of Tressy I couldn't afford to buy one of his dogs. He said he'd still like to meet with me on Tuesday and let me look at the pups he had with him. It turns out he and his wife had been in Southern California with one of his Blue male studs and also had a litter of pups he was selling. He'd sold several and was taking them to their new owners. He ended up calling me 5 times on Tuesday and finally made a good deal for me. He dropped the price of the black male dobie pup to $550, said he'd take $200 in cash and give me 30 days to pay the balance. If I didn't have a new job in 30 days he'd let me make $50 a month payments. I haven't named him yet. I keep waiting to see what name fits his personality. Everyone I talk to so far suggests calling him Apollo or Zeus. I laugh and say no.. one of my favorite old TV programs was Magnum PI and therew were 2 male dobermans on the program named Apollo and Zeus. So for now, this cute pup is nameless.

My best friend...how long will she last?

Tressy is my best friend.. my 4 legged best friend. She's been through so much with me since I got her in 1999. She's a well seasoned traveler and everyone who meets her falls in love with her. She's so loveable and cuddly. I've only seen her growl and get serious about biting someone 2 times. The first was in Maine when 2 men came walking down the hill and she was trying to get away and was going to bite them. She wanted them no where near me. As soon as they were out of sight, she calmed down and wanted to lick and jump all over anyone else that came around. The next time was my old boyfriend in Arkansas' baby sister. Tressy would growl and snap at her everytime she came to the house.

She'd never been sick until recently. After moving to Colorado I took her in to the vet after she started having a cough. She got her rabies shot, an update on her parvo and I had them test for heartworm. A few days later they said she tested positive for heartworm and to bring her in the next day for xrays and additional blood work to see how bad her infestation was. The night I found out about the heartworms, she started coughing almost none stop and to the point of gagging. The next day she could hardly breath and the coughing continued. The vet thought she was having an allergic reaction to the heartworms and gave me predisone for her breathing and antibiotics. The next day she got worse and he told me to take her to an ER vet clinic 20 miles away. She was so bad they had to help her walk back to the treatment area. She was put on oxygen and given a shot of morphine. It was almost 3 hours before I could see her. My roommate called and came by with her boyfriend to check on Tressy. She was hugging me and crying about Tressy being so sick. The first vet I talked to said she didn't think Tressy would make it through the night but to call and check on her throughout the night. They are a 24/7 365 clinic but oooooh so expensive. They wouldn't keep her until I put down a deposit on her bill. I was able to get approved with a credit company for a card with $600 limit and they used that as my deposit. They quoted me a total just for 24 hours of $1200 to $1500.

My best human friend had been texting me on my cell phone to get updates on Tressy. He was waiting online when I got home and spent 2 hours talking to me to get details and to make sure I was ok. He told me he'd be on the next day to see how she was.

When I went back I brought her home against their recommendation. She really liked one of the vets and he walked outside with me and let me know to tell the local vet to call him and he'd tell him what treatments to give Tressy so I could save money.
They believe she has a heart disease that happens in large breed dogs like dobermans. They say they think she is having congestive heart failure and all they can do now is keep her comfortable and when we can't, put her down. She has been a fighter and now that I have my king size bed up compared to the twin she's even more happy.

When she does pass, my best friend and I discussed and decided what to do with her ashes. I'll cremate her and put her ashes in a cedar box with a wolf painting on the lid. It's one that I got when he and I were camping in Wyoming in June and Tressy was with us. It was the last place she got to run wild and be totally free and she was so happy. We thought it would be appropriate to have her ashes in that box.

I just hope I have her with me for a long time yet...

Today's Goal

I took Tressy out for a walk this morning and as usual took one of my cameras with me. For some reason I've been fascinated with all the wild sunflowers and been snapping pictures like crazy of them. I keep seeing the building in this picture (the red brick building) and my goal for the day is to find out what that building is. I guess I'll leave for work early and drive that way to look for signs.

I found out I'm water

What is the element of your soul?

Water You are Water. You are usually a very calm person. You can usually be very level-headed about things. Don't be mistaken. You may be calm, but if someone stirs the waters, you are quick to react, but you usually won't unless it's of dire mportance.

How do you compare? Take this test! | Tests from Testriffic

Life without AC

When I moved to Colorado, I was so excited that I was moving into a house that a) had a bathtub and 2) had air conditioning. I've been in 7th heaven just being able to soak my achy shoulders and muscles whenever I want in the tub. A shower is great but not when you want to just light some candles, put on relaxing music, get a glass of wine and soak in a nice hot bubble bath. The air conditioner here died on Sunday afternoon and the house has been in the 90's for the most part. Of course, my room has been cooler. I brought my portable room air conditioning unit with me from California. It was such fun carrying it up the stairs. It weighs at least 60 pounds and I was carrying it by myself. I keep my room dark for the most part to help keep it cool. I run the ac unit at 80 in the day time while at work and down to 72 at night when I get home. I have the ceiling fan on 24/7 and I also have a small tower type oscillating fan next to the bed. My 4 legged daughter stays in my room during the day and I want to make sure she says cool. My roommate's room is like an oven and downstairs isn't much better. Last night she was hinting that I should pay to fix the air conditioning unit. I told her no way, her sister who is our landlady is responsible for fixing it. If it's not fixed.. not my problem, I at least have my portable unit for my room. Her parents are downstairs now and seeing if they can fix it. I'm curious to see what the final result will be tonight... Will post an update when I know.

HP TECH SUPPORT SUCKS

I have an HP desktop that I have had for just under one year. You'll see in a previous blog how I have had problems before and had to ship to HP for a new hard drive. I spent 1 1/2 hours with a tech who kept having me do the same thing over. I told him I'd been online with a tech Saturday but kept quitting a disconnect on my lap top with the tech. He kept concentrating on my monitor. I told him to take the book and shove it up his ass and to stop and listen to what I was telling him. I finally demanded to speak to a supervisor and he said no .. not until I answered every one of his questions and did what he told me to do. I told him if he valued his fucking job he better put his supervisor on the phone. My problem with the computer is once it is shut off, it will not turn on until I have disconnected the power cord then held in the power button for 5 seconds, plug back in the power cord and hit the power button again. This makes it boot up and work. They kept saying it was solved when it would boot up when you hit restart. I kept saying no.. not fixed and they weren't closing my case since it wouldn't start normally. The supervisor said I had to go through the steps with him from start. I said he could again go fuck himself.. that I was calling HP, writing a letter to HP, documenting the date and time of my call.. sending emails to everyone I know about their tech support, going to make a page and make sure it's seen by as many as possible. He told me I couldn't do anything like that and started asking me questions.. i told him to bend over drop his drawers and stick his manuel up his ass then hung up on him.

Washer's and Dryers are just too complicated

I found this weekend that I'm behind the times whenit coms to modern washers and dryers. My landlady has apparently the latest. The washing machine is all open.. nothing in the middle for my clothes to get caught on, it determines the water level after sensing the size of the load. The one thing I really wasn't prepared for was when I started to put my clothes in the dryer. Suddenly the washing machine started communicating to the dryer on what kind of clothes it has just washed and the size of the load. I found this out by watching the dryer come on and the lights between the two flashing. It was just down right scarey. Both will even tell you after sensing the load and what you've programed them to do how long of a wait you'll have before done.

Our Dog Run Friend

The last couple of days I've heard 2 birds making a lot of noise talking to each other.. or at least I think that's what they've been doing. I finally remembered to take my camera with me when I took my 4 legged daughter out for her morning walk. Just before getting to the dog park, a hawk flew over us, circled and landed in a tree near us. Once we got inside the dog park and Tressy was running free, the hawk flew over and sat on a limb near the fence and watched us. Once in a while it would squawk at us but watched our every move. I was able to stand just below it and take pictures. If we moved too far away it would fly to another tree to be closer to us and watch what we were doing. Now I need to find out what kind of hawk this is.. and if male or female. Then come up with a nickname for it.

What I saw Today

Since I'm starting a new life in Colorado, I thought I'd start a what I saw today blog. Today, well actually yesterday morning, I took Tressy for a walk and found a dog park here in the townhouse complex. I took her there this morning and let her run for about 30 min. I can take my lap top or a book and sit down there while she runs when the weather is nice. This is the closest she gets to a backyard to run in for a while :-(

Work Ethics and Morals

Is it me, or do the younger generations have no or very little work ethics and morals? I work in an office with 18 other people. Of those, only 3 others are above 40. I am the oldest of the group at age 56. Most are in their early to mid-20's and a couple like the branch manager are 30 to 31. It seems they can never get to work on time, never take just an hour's lunch, find nothing wrong coming into the office still having a buzz from their drinking party the night before, etc. Our manager had a family emergency and has been out of the office for 8 days. In those 8 days, 2 have been fighting as to who's in charge. The entire office has had a shitty attitude with lots of fighting and yelling going on. It's like working with 5 yr olds, not adults. They are all into what you own .. material things and looks are far more important than friends, family, health, etc. It's such a "Me" oriented generation. There is no respect for others, no consideration of what their actions or words might do to someone else. It scares me when I think of what society is going to be like in the next few years.

Diets and Exercise

Diets are so boring. Over the last umpteen years I didn't really take care of myself and have gotten completely out of shape and overweight. Heck why say overweight when the truth is I'm obese by today's standards. My weight has caused me to have Type II diabetes. I've been told it can be controlled by diet and exercise but for now they have my on a daily pill. This pill has such a cute name... "januvia". It is the name of a place in a movie I've watched a couple of times. (Yes, I do watch chick flicks.) I decided as a New Year resolution to do something about my weight and health. For now, I'm on Nutrisystem. It's expensive or can be but it's helping me lose weight as well as learning the proper portions for meals. So far I've lost 15 pound but have 114 to go before meeting my goal weight. Now if the weather would just cooperate so I could go for walks in the morning before work. It also needs to cooperate so I won't be spending $400 a month for electric and gas, just to keep the house at 66F. Next step is to get enough money to join Curves and do a daily or every other day work out. I could think of another exercise that would help lose weight and be soooooooo much more fun but alas I have no partner for type of exercise.

I'm hoping to finally see an old friend this summer. I'd like to surprise him with a much thinner and healthier me. *EG*

Why are tech supports for companies in other countries?

Why can't companies get their tech support located in the good old USA where people for the most part can speak English where you can understand what they are saying and they can understand you???????? I spent an hour tonight on the phone with HP about one of my computers. I bought it July 23, 2006. The hard drive crashed tonight and I had to call Tech Support in order to get a new hard drive. I spoke to 3 tech support males and each one was hard to understand. They all sounded Indian.. as in livin gin India. Each one told me to do the same procedures on the computer even though they put me on hold for 5 minutes to read the notes from the previous tech. The 2nd tech said "oh.. you've verified your hard drive has crashed and since you're computer is under warranty until August 1, 2007, we'll get you a new hard drive. The 3rd Tech finally said well yes you do have a defective hard drive and it is covered under warranty.. but are you sure no one at your house has turned off your anti virus software and caused a problem when you're not home. He got pissed off when I said unless my dog has learned to turn on the computer and visit doggie porn sites while I'm at work.. the answer is NO. He asked if I was positive it was the hard drive rattling and making God awful noises and not the fan. I pointed out if it was the fan, it would make the noise when the fan kicked in.. not when it was trying to access info on the hard drive. I've been told I am receiving a new hard drive which should be here January 10th. I am responsible for installing the hard drive myself or paying to have someone put it in... (wtf kind of service is this??). I have 15 days to get the old hard drive back to them or they are going to charge my debit card for the cost of the new hard drive. The computer was finally able to boot up while talking to the 3rd Tech. Luckily I have everything backed up on an external hard drive. Right now I'm deleting everything off the old hard drive. I'm glad I have an old desk top to use and the new lap top.. and really glad i invested in an external hard drive. I'd be lost without all my pictures, music, etc....